Philadelphia 76ers: Potential preview of Boston Celtics playoff matchup

Currently, Philadelphia 76ers have the Celtics as their first-round opponent.

The NBA has voted to continue the season with 22 teams in Walt Disney World, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. With the season continuing the Philadelphia 76ers have to look at who could possibly be their first-round opponent in the playoffs and that would be the Boston Celtics based on current standings.

Of course, that could change seeing as there are eight more regular-season games the Sixers have to play before the postseason begins. They could stay in sixth place (which would be in their best interest) or jump as high as fourth (possibly third though that seems unlikely).

Having a baseline analysis on a potential playoff matchup wouldn’t hurt, especially because play isn’t slated to begin until July 31, 2020.

76ers vs. Celtics?

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What would a match up against these two historic rivals look like? This season, Philly has a 3-1 record against Boston. The Sixers have averaged 106.5 points and the Celtics averaged 104 points per game.

It doesn’t look like a huge margin, but in the three wins against Boston, the 76ers had an average margin of victory of 10.3 points. In Philly’s one loss they there was a 21-point spread between the two teams.

In each of the victory, the Sixers had a different leading scorer. Ben Simmons led the club with 24 points in the first win. In the second victory, Joel Embiid led both teams with 38 points. Josh Richardson had 29 points to lead the 76ers in their third win. In Boston’s one victory, Jaylen Brown was the team’s leading scorer. He wasn’t the top bucket getter in any of the Celtics’ three losses.

Philly’s one loss to the Celtics is somewhat of an outlier. The Sixers were without Richardson and Boston was without Kemba Walker. While Walker is more skilled, Richardson was the bigger loss in the matchup due to the Celtics’ quality depth at guard. Both Embiid and Gordon Hayward went 1-11 from the floor, neither is likely to occur again.

In this matchup, Embiid is the key to victory. None of the big men in Boston can bother Embiid defensively. Enes Kanter at 6-foot-10 isn’t a defensive center. Daniel Theis is a solid defender but at 6-foot-8 and 215 lbs, he doesn’t have the physical gifts to slow down Embiid.

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Robert Williams is also only 6-foot-8 and can’t be relied on for big minutes yet. The 7-foot Vincent Poirier and 7-foot-5 Tacko Fall probably won’t see any postseason play, despite both having the size that might bother Embiid. If Embiid can have his way in the paint, it should open up the perimeter for Philly’s shooters.

The Celtics have four All-Star level wings in Brown, Hayward, Jayson Tatum, and Walker, but the Sixers have good defenders to matchup on them to slow them down. Richardson, Simmons, Matisse Thybulle, and even Glenn Robinson III are quality defenders that should stand their own against the elite perimeter attack of Boston.

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It won’t be an easy first round matchup if it happens, but the Philadelphia 76ers should have an advantage against the Celtics.